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A social enterprise project
Kick Off Ghana (KOG)

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The Mackintosh School of Architecture is currently working towards the construction of a new community football facility in Accra, Ghana. The project, known as Kick Off Ghana (KOG), is due to go on site in 2015 and students at the School have been involved in research and design work since last year. In preparation for the main project, the GSA is launching a live build summer project in Nakuru, Kenya, to fully test and develop the current design and thinking.

In collaboration with humanitarian architecture charity, Orkidstudio (founded by MSA Lecturer, James Mitchell), a team of GSA students will spend up to four weeks in Kenya building a chicken shed for the St. Jerome’s Centre. This short project precedes a larger build by Orkidstudio to build new facilities for the Centre. Progress on this project can be seen in the film below.

The KOG Chicken Shed aims to provide a catalyst for long term development for a group of disadvantaged children and young people in Kenya. Under the care of the St. Jerome’s Centre, these children are a vital part of the future of this rapidly growing economy. Once abandoned, orphaned or leading a life of addiction and abuse on the streets, these children have faced a reality which affects an overwhelming proportion of young people in the local area. Providing them with vocational skills and knowledge will enable them to prosper in the future.

The chicken shed model acts as a tool for training in social entrepreneurship and care of livestock. The implementation of a simple, locally run programme, enables the children to gain valuable experience through the daily management of egg-laying chickens alongside the selling and financial monitoring of a small egg supply business at local markets.

With a real brief and client, students will be asked to grapple with the demands of delivering a high quality and appropriate built solution in a challenging environment. This short exploratory project, will also provide a basis for development, reflection, learning and research in support of the ongoing development of KOG and the MSA’s continued interest in socially responsible architectural practice across the Global South.

The St. Jerome’s Centre in Nakuru, Kenya is currently home to 20 children between the ages of 5 and 15 years. Driven by a mission to nurture and care for Kenya’s orphans, the St. Jerome’s Centre focus on providing a home for these children, where they are safe to grow, learn and develop. We are working with a group of young volunteers to design, construct, and gift a new orphanage in summer 2014 that will enable the continued growth and development of this organisation and provide a safe and inspiring home for the children.